I have been working with computers from both the hardware and software sides since 1986. In 1995 I started working in IT (Internet Technology) working to keep servers, websites, and email running while at the same time programming websites and backend scripts for the websites and server and network administration that is necessary for them to run well. At one point, I was an entire one-man IT Department for an organization that would have been better served to have at least 3, and as many as 7, individuals on staff in the IT Department. Before and during most of my time in the position I felt and thought of myself as just another person good with computers. Eventually, I came to realize that I was wrong.

Over the years I have seen a lot of different network infrastructures, website designs, and software coding styles. It is very rare that I have ever seen any of these being well planned, well secured, or well implemented. In most of these cases the owners, management, and those directly involved would just claim that everything is great and that it works, so there is nothing to fix. This thinking has plagued the IT industry with ignored bugs, and security issues. While many of those in the industry will show credentials from various schools, classes, and exams, they are not alternatives for experience and hands-on, real world, learning.

In my expert opinion when something is working it still may not be working well, working right, or working securely. My experience has taught me that a majority of those in the IT industry, as high as 80%, do not have the necessary skills to function in their current job capacity.

Throughout the 1990s I had felt that the colleges and universities should separate their computer programs better, specifically between hardware and software. However, I have come to realize now, in the mid-2010s, that this may have been a relatively bad idea. Now many software designers, developers, and programmers are unable to explain to hardware professionals what they require and vice-versa.

My best jobs have been working with companies, not for them. The difference is relatively straightforward, working for someone means you do as they say and want regardless of how wrong their decision may be, knowing full well that the decision may cause a long-term issue for the business. In this situation, it is common to feel like your talents are being underutilized, and flat out ignored. On the other hand, working with an organization may feel freeing as it allows one to make appropriate and well-informed decisions for the good of the organization, its employees, and its customers and clients. Additionally, it feels good to have your knowledge utilized effectively by being able to implement the right technology changes.

Outside of my day jobs, I have kept working to help keep websites up and running efficiently and securely by providing IT Consulting. This endeavor, named Sequential Logic, takes a logical approach to this. First and foremost, those that Sequential Logic does work with, not for, are not considered clients or customers. They are considered partners. We want theses partners to view Sequential Logic as their very own in-house IT consulting department. Next, Sequential Logic thinks about security by keeping on top of industry changes, known issues, and software updates while also carefully monitoring the health of any servers under its control. With all of this in mind, it is important to remember that it is not uncommon to need a second, or even a third, look at anything that someone has built. Sequential Logic can help by being available to give that additional resource.

After several attempts and paying extreme attention to what was happening I have come up with the following directions to upgrade from FreeBSD 9.0 to FreeBSD 9.1 on a Rackspace Cloud Server.

Note: If these directions are not followed exactly than you may end up with a still running FreeBSD 9.0 kernel, see “uname -a” to check, or a non-booting system due to the ZFS error, “The kernel fails to mount a ZFS root filesystem with error 2.”

1) Adding “SET default_storage_engine=MYISAM;” to the top of any sql files creating tables in the installation.

2) Adding ” STORAGE ENGINE=MYISAM ” to each table creation statement where the table will not create.

In looking at Joomla’s website I have yet to find any easy way to contact anyone without registering for their website first. I would suggest they change their table creation statements to include a storage engine as follows: